Iraq forces advance into militant-held Tikrit: officials

KIRKUK: Iraqi security forces advanced into militant-held Tikrit on Tuesday in an assault aimed at revitalising flagging efforts to retake the city, officials said.

Security forces began the attack in morning and have succeeded in retaking government facilities in the city's south.

Gunmen kill three troops on Lebanon-Syria border: official

BAALBECK, Lebanon: Armed men killed three Lebanese soldiers near the Syria border overnight, an official said Tuesday, in the deadliest such attack since the start of the Syrian revolt more than two years ago.

“Three soldiers were killed by armed men while they were in a four-wheel drive vehicle east of Arsal,” the security official told AFP, referring to a town in northeastern Lebanon where most residents support the Syrian uprising.